Tuesday night, I attended a Ralph Nader discussion and booksigning on 7th street in DC. I figured it might be a good idea to liveblog the event for those who couldn’t make it, so I did so on Daily Kos. That diary is located here. While the diary got a lot of comments (145), an overwhelming majority of them were negative. Some of them were just plain hysterical. Here are a few of the most reccommended comments:
It is clear that many of these people are not interested in debating ideas, they are just looking for a target for their knee jerk reaction. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the experience was the fact that people repeatedly changed the tags for the diary to “troll diary,” “amnesia,” and “hurricane ralph.” The tags I originally used were things like “Ralph Nader booksigning” and “the seventeen traditions.” I think it is pretty sad that the level of discourse has dropped to the point where people will edit the tags on someone else’s diary in order to purposely mislead other readers and avoid an honest discussion. That kind of immaturity is disheartening and I hope it isn’t a regular occurrence there, or anywhere.
With all of that being said, I’d like to point out that I post there regularly and enjoy the discussions on policy and democratic candidates, among other things. On topics such as those the debate is generally fierce and honest. Hell, I even went to their national conference last year in Vegas and had a great time. I sincerely hope, though, that they learn to have honest discussions about topics outside the realm of democratic electoral politics. If not, I will be much less interested in posting there in the future.
Amid rampant speculation regarding his plans to once again seek the Presidency in 2008, Ralph Nader was willing to address a small but diverse crowd at Olsson’s books and music tonight in Washington D.C. Despite claims by some Democratic activists that his candidacy had a spoiler effect in the 2000 election, Ralph maintains that the presence of independent and third party candidates in national politics is a necessary alternative to the duopoly that has controlled Washington decades. Ralph’s tireless work to protect the interests of ordinary Americans is an inspiration to many. Despite attacks from all points on the political spectrum, Ralph continues to act as a watchdog on the corporate and political forces that would do us harm.
Ralph should begin speaking shortly. I’ll update frequently throughout the discussion.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask him, through me, leave them in the comments.
*Update: Serious questions only please*
This is the book he’ll be discussing:
Seventeen Traditions
So begins this unexpected and extraordinary book by Ralph Nader. Known for his lifetime of selfless activism, Nader now looks back to the earliest days of his own life, to his serene and enriching childhood in bucolic Winsted, Connecticut. From listening to learning, from patriotism to argument, from work to simple enjoyment, Nader revisits seventeen key traditions he absorbed from his parents, his siblings, and the people in his community, and draws from them inspiring lessons for today’s society. Warmly human, rich with sensory memories and lasting wisdom, it offers a kind of modern-day parable of how we grow from children into adults responsiblea reminder of a time when nature and community were central to the way we all learned and lived.
7:30 - The place has filled in nicely, standing room only. He is expected to begin speaking any minute now.
7:35 - They say he will speak in 3 minutes.
7:38 - Ralph is now in the front of the room and is being introduced.
7:40 - Nader begins speaking, “I’ve never written a book like this.”
7:42 - I just got a pop-up saying my diary was edited by an admin, not cool.
7:43 - Ralph is talking about the restaraunt his father owned when he was a child. You could go there for “a cup of coffee and 10 minutes of politics.” He seems to be getting toward how his experiences there dealing with different types of people shaped the politician he became.
7:45 - “The first tradition in the book is the tradition of listening.”
7:46 - “We got instructed at school and educated at home.”
7:48 - He is explaining how his parents taught him the value of independent thinking at an early age.
7:51 - Ralph’s mother used the question “how much would you know about yourself if you only remembered the last 6 months?” to illustrate the value of history.
7:55 - He is still discussing the importance and value of family and how much he enjoyed writing about his family.
7:59 - “Watching my mother on the phone, talking to the editor of the local newspaper, was civics 101, all by itself.”
8:03 - “To my parents, civic values were family values. Business values were family values.
8:07 - He is now telling a story about judgemental kids in his 8th grade class and how he learned a lot that day about justice and sticking up for the little guy (or girl, in this case.)
8:09 - He is now taking questions.
8:11 - He was just asked what he thought of John Edwards’ emphasis on poverty. “He is starting to hit the right notes.” He wasn’t impressed with Edwards’ record in the Senate. Talked briefly about the importance of fortitude. “Hilary Clinton is a classic panderer.”
8:18 - When asked about 2008: “It’s too early to say.”
8:19 - He is now discussing the problems of the campaign finance system and the two-party system.
8:20 - He is heavily praising Bill Moyers and seems as if he would support him if he ran on the Democratic ticket in 2008.
8:21 - He is talking about the inflated military budget and other misplaced priorities in Bush’s proposed budget.
8:23 - Question: “Who would you like to see run in 2008?” “Well, Russ Feingold is out.” He seems to respect Gravel and Kucinich above all others remaining. “Any Democratic candidate who voted for the war is unfit for the Presidency.”
8:24 - “The democracy is for sale.”
8:30 - He was just asked about impeachment. He said that both Bush and Cheney are both guilty of impeachment offenses on multiple counts. He also mentioned that in 2004 that was a large part of his campaign.
8:33 - He said that Bush and Cheney are raising the bar in terms of what future President’s can get away with without getting impeached. In terms of the impeachment he says Bush and Cheney should be a “package job.”
8:35 - It is just about over. Thanks for the lively discussion. I’ll be back by 9:30 Eastern to respond to more of the comments.